"deck at that time. The following year, ""Un'yō""s light AA armament was increased to a total of 64 weapons. ""Un'yō"" made three voyages from Japan to Truk, Saipan, and Rabaul between July and October 1942, during which she delivered 10 Mitsubishi A6M Zero fighters to the latter on 11 September. Her next trip was far more involved as she ferried aircraft between Truk, the Philippines, Palau and the Dutch East Indies. The ship departed Yokosuka on 28 October and picked up the 11th Fighter Regiment at Surabaya, Java, on 2 December and delivered them to Truk on 11 days later."
"still be deadly. Due to shortages of high-powered aviation engines and problems with planned successor models, the Zero remained in production until 1945, with over 11,000 of all variants produced. The American military discovered many of the A6M's unique attributes when they recovered a largely intact specimen of an A6M2, the Akutan Zero, on Akutan Island in the Aleutians. During an air raid over Dutch Harbor on June 4, 1942, one A6M fighter was hit by ground-based anti-aircraft fire. Losing oil, Flight Petty Officer Tadayoshi Koga attempted an emergency landing on Akutan Island about northeast of Dutch Harbor, but his"
"the Japanese Mitsubishi A6M Zero. Several nations, including Finland, Belgium, Britain and the Netherlands, ordered the Buffalo. The Finns were the most successful with their Buffalos, flying them in combat against early Soviet fighters with excellent results. During the Continuation War of 1941–1944, the B-239s (a de-navalized F2A-1) operated by the Finnish Air Force proved capable of engaging and destroying most types of Soviet fighter aircraft operating against Finland at that time and achieving in the first phase of that conflict 32 Soviet aircraft shot down for every B-239 lost, and producing 36 Buffalo ""aces"". In December 1941, Buffalos operated"
"first saw combat over Chungking in August. There they proved to be completely untouchable by the Polikarpov I-16s and I-153s that had been such a problem for the A5Ms when in service. In one encounter, 13 Zeros shot down 27 I-15s and I-16s in under three minutes without loss. After hearing of these reports, the navy immediately ordered the A6M2 into production as the Type 0 Carrier Fighter, Model 11. Reports of the Zero's performance filtered back to the US slowly. There they were dismissed by most military officials, who thought it was impossible for the Japanese to build such"
"such as a lack of hydraulic flaps and rudder rendering it extremely unmaneuverable at high speeds, and an inability to equip it with a more powerful aircraft engine, the Zero gradually became less effective against newer Allied fighters. By 1944, with opposing Allied fighters approaching its levels of maneuverability and consistently exceeding its firepower, armor, and speed, the A6M had largely become outdated as a fighter aircraft. However, due to design delays and production difficulties, which hampered the introduction of newer Japanese aircraft models, the Zero continued to serve in a front line role until the end of the war"
"the Japanese system did not have a different number series for each manufacturer, and did not omit the number ""1"". Thus, the Zero's type in this designation system was A6M, which meant the sixth type of carrier fighter under this designation system, and that it was built by Mitsubishi. Variants were indicated by an additional number at the end; repurposing an aircraft was indicated by a dash and then the new type letter. Sometimes two aircraft were ordered from different manufacturers to the same specification at the same time, generally as insurance against the primary design not working out. In"
"being a copy have been discredited by some authors. The A6M is usually known as the ""Zero"" from its Japanese Navy type designation, Type 0 carrier fighter (""Rei shiki Kanjō sentōki"", 零式艦上戦闘機), taken from the last digit of the Imperial year 2600 (1940) when it entered service. In Japan, it was unofficially referred to as both ""Rei-sen"" and ""Zero-sen""; Japanese pilots most commonly called it ""Zero-sen,"" where ""sen"" is the first syllable of ""sentōki,"" Japanese for ""fighter plane"". In the official designation ""A6M"", the ""A"" signified a carrier-based fighter, ""6"" meant that it was the sixth such model built for"
"their own separate studies. A Mitsubishi A6M ""Zero"" of the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service made a forced landing in June 1942 on Akutan Island, off Alaska. The aircraft (known later as the ""Akutan Zero"") was recovered by the USN and shipped to NAS North Island, California, where it was repaired and made a number of test flights to determine its performance and capabilities. In late 1942, the Australian Army captured lightly damaged or incomplete examples of the Nakajima Ki-43 ""Hayabusa"" (""Oscar"") – the main fighter used by the Imperial Japanese Army Air Force during the war – in Papua"
"the Mitsubishi A6M Zero fighter. Mitsubishi announced in June 2013 that it would establish a quality control facility in Illinois for the sourcing of MRJ components from the United States. MHI employs new production methods such as integral wing stringers, unusually tight tolerances, shot peening of curved surfaces, and vacuum assisted resin transfer molding, intended to increase quality and thus reduce expensive fault correction to keep price competitive. On 26 April 2017, the fifth MRJ was complete in ANA livery, lacking only engines and nose cone, aircraft number six and seven had their fuselage and wings joined without the tails"
"Later, two variants of the fighter received their own code names. The Nakajima A6M2-N floatplane version of the Zero was called ""Rufe"", and the A6M3-32 variant was initially called ""Hap"". General ""Hap"" Arnold, commander of the USAAF, objected to that name, however, so it was changed to ""Hamp"". Captured examples were examined in New Guinea and the Allies realized that it was a variant of the Zero, so it was finally renamed ""Zeke 32"". The first Zeros (pre-series of 15 A6M2) went into operation with the 12th Rengo Kōkūtai in July 1940. On 13 September 1940, the Zeros scored their"
"as numbers for the J2M reflect. A surviving J2M is on display at the Planes of Fame museum in Chino, California. Mitsubishi J2M The Mitsubishi J2M ""Raiden"" (雷電, ""Thunderbolt"") is a single-engined land-based fighter aircraft used by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service in World War II. The Allied reporting name was ""Jack"". The J2M was designed by Jiro Horikoshi, creator of the A6M Zero, to meet the 14-Shi (14th year of the Showa reign, or 1939) official specification. It was to be a strictly local-defense interceptor, intended to counter the threat of high-altitude bomber raids, and thus relied on"
"mass production in 1936. In 1937, Horikoshi and his team at Mitsubishi were asked to design Prototype 12 (corresponding to the 12th year of the Shōwa era). Prototype 12 was completed in July 1940, and it was accepted by the Imperial Japanese Navy. Since 1940 was the Japanese year 2600, the new fighter was named as ""Model 00"" or ""Zero"" or A6M Zero, in Japan also known as the ""Rei-sen"" (literally meaning ""zero fight"", shortened for ""Model zero fighter airplane""). Subsequently, he was involved in many other fighters manufactured by Mitsubishi, including the Mitsubishi J2M Raiden (Thunderbolt) and the Mitsubishi"
"kg (3,704 lb) for the A6M2 version, which was extremely light even by the standards of its time. The design team leader, Jiro Horikoshi, intended it to be as light and agile as possible, embodying the qualities of a samurai sword. With Japanese engine technology lagging behind that of the west, but required to out-perform western fighters, the designers minimised weight to maximize range and maneuverability. This was achieved by methods including the use of light weaponry and the absence of armour and self-sealing fuel tanks. Early in World War II the Zero was considered the most capable carrier-based fighter"
"problems, the Soviets slowly and methodically began to regain air supremacy after the Battle of Stalingrad in 1943. This theater is notable for including the only female fighter aces in history, Yekaterina Budanova and Lydia Litvyak. After the bombing of Pearl Harbor, in the Hawaiian Islands, the United States entered the war. The Japanese used the Mitsubishi A6M Zero, an extremely lightweight fighter known for its exceptional range and maneuverability. The U.S. military tested out the Akutan Zero, a Mitsubishi A6M2 which was captured intact in 1942, advising — along the same lines that General Claire Chennault, commander of the"
"often used as a dive bomber in Burma. The aircraft was not necessarily a failure, and was considered an acceptable light bomber for the first few years of the war by many historians. Much like the Mitsubishi A6M Zero fighter, it was satisfactory for the period when it was designed and produced, but had to be used against much newer and faster competition, due to Japan's inability to produce enough newer aircraft. The aircraft served in China from late 1940, replacing the Kawasaki Ki-32, and were widely used in the Philippines, Malaya, Burma, New Guinea, the Solomon Islands and the"
"the fabled airplane. To them the Zero did not long remain a mystery plane. Word quickly circulated among the combat pilots as to its particular attributes. Indeed on 6 October while testing the Zero, Akutan Zero test pilot Frederick M. Trapnell made a highly revealing statement: 'The general impression of the airplane is exactly as originally created by intelligence—including the performance'. However, nine wrecked Mitsubishi A6M Zeros were recovered from Pearl Harbor shortly after the attack in December 1941, and United States Office of Naval Intelligence, along with BuAer had them studied, and then shipped to the Experimental Engineering Department"
"no viable high-output, compact engines to use for a new fighter. In addition, Jiro Horikoshi's team was preoccupied with addressing early production issues with the A6M2b as well as starting development on the A6M3 and the 14-""Shi"" interceptor (which would later become the Mitsubishi J2M Raiden, a land-based interceptor built to counter high-altitude bombers). As a result, work on the Zero successor was halted in January 1941. In April 1942, the development of the A6M3 and the 14-""Shi"" interceptor was complete, and the Japanese Navy once again tasked Mitsubishi and Horikoshi's team with designing a new Zero successor to become"
"Mitsubishi J2M The Mitsubishi J2M ""Raiden"" (雷電, ""Thunderbolt"") is a single-engined land-based fighter aircraft used by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service in World War II. The Allied reporting name was ""Jack"". The J2M was designed by Jiro Horikoshi, creator of the A6M Zero, to meet the 14-Shi (14th year of the Showa reign, or 1939) official specification. It was to be a strictly local-defense interceptor, intended to counter the threat of high-altitude bomber raids, and thus relied on speed, climb performance, and armament at the expense of manoeuvrability. The J2M was a sleek, but stubby craft with its oversized"
"Chongqing and Chengdu; the massed formation of the G3M bombers provided heavy firepower against Chinese fighter planes assigned to the defense of Chongqing and Chengdu, which continued to cause problems for the Japanese attacks. However, in late 1940, unbeknownst to the Americans and European allies, the Imperial Japanese appeared in the skies over Chongqing and Chengdu with the world's most advanced fighter plane at the time: the A6M ""Zero"" fighter that dominated the skies over China against the increasingly obsolete Russian-made Polikarpov I-15/I-153s and I-16s that were the principal fighter planes of the Chinese Nationalist Air Force; that which would"
"Mitsubishi A6M Zero fighter planes in aerial combat. Despite these odds, VF-32 shot down 21 enemy aircraft without suffering a single loss. Outlaw himself was credited with 5 kills and a probable on this sortie, making him an ace-in-a-day. On May 12, 1944, while ""Langley"" was at anchor in Majuro between strike action, Outlaw was promoted to Commander Air Group 32 (CAG-32). The air group resumed its flight schedule on June 6 as part of the opening air strikes of the Mariana campaign. During the initial fighter sweep that day, CAG Outlaw downed an enemy Zero, bringing his score to"
"various other training aircraft helped create a busy sky. But five airmen died in a midair collision. With as many as 60 aircraft committed to the production, the film was the most ambitious of its kind in wartime. To portray the Japanese Mitsubishi A6M Zero fighters, the production used ""Hollywood Zeros"", the ubiquitous North American AT-6 trainers, repainted and carrying Japanese national insignia. The Warner Brothers' Ranch near Los Angeles was used as the airfield seen in the film's opening sequence at the American Volunteer Group (AVG) base Kunming. There a trio of full-scale P-40 mock-ups, built several years earlier"
"While the navy was testing the first two prototypes, they suggested that the third be fitted with the Nakajima Sakae 12 engine instead. Mitsubishi had its own engine of this class in the form of the Kinsei, so they were somewhat reluctant to use the Sakae. Nevertheless, when the first A6M2 was completed in January 1940, the Sakae's extra power pushed the performance of the Zero well past the original specifications. The new version was so promising that the Navy had 15 built and shipped to China before they had completed testing. They arrived in Manchuria in July 1940, and"
"four ""light barrel"" AN/M2 .50 cal. Browning machine guns and one 20 mm autocannon, and the Grumman F6F Hellcat and Vought F4U Corsair, each with six AN/M2 heavy calibre Browning guns, appeared in the Pacific theater, the A6M, with its low-powered engine and lighter armament, was hard-pressed to remain competitive. In combat with an F6F or F4U, the only positive thing that could be said of the Zero at this stage of the war was that, in the hands of a skillful pilot, it could maneuver as well as most of its opponents. Nonetheless, in competent hands, the Zero could"
"much less framing than the A6M). While relatively easy for a trained eye to tell apart with the ""finer"" lines of the Ki-43's fuselage — especially towards the tail — and more tapered wing planform; in the heat of battle, given the brief glimpses and distraction of combat, Allied aviators frequently made mistakes in enemy aircraft identification in the heat of a dogfight, reportedly having fought ""Zeros"" in areas where there were no Navy fighters. Like the Mitsubishi-produced A6M Zero, the radial-engined Ki-43 was light and easy to fly and became legendary for its combat performance in East Asia in"
"but one above-mentioned Mitsubishi A6M2 Zero was damaged by ground fire and crash-landed on Akutan Island, about northeast of Dutch Harbor. Although the pilot was killed, the plane was not seriously damaged. This Zero—known as the ""Akutan Zero""—was recovered by American forces, inspected, and repaired. The recovery was an important technical intelligence gain for U.S., as it showed the strengths and weaknesses of the Zero′s design. The following day, Admiral Kakuta received orders to break off further attacks and head for the central Pacific to support the Combined Fleet which was retreating after being defeated at Midway. Two days later,"
"among Navy aviators. All had fixed, non-retractable undercarriage. Wheel spats were a feature of standard fighters but not training aircraft. The Flying Tigers encountered the Type 96, although not officially, and one was shot down at Mingaladon airfield, Burma on 29 January 1942. Some A5Ms remained in service at the end of 1941 when the United States entered World War II in the Pacific. US intelligence sources believed the A5M still served as Japan's primary Navy fighter, when in fact the A6M 'Zero' had replaced it on first-line aircraft carriers and with the Tainan Kōkūtai in Taiwan. Other Japanese carriers"
"Second World War, was eventually shot down in combat with A6M Zeros on 14 March 1941 and died two days later from his injuries. He and Arthur Chin were among a group of 15 Chinese Americans, who formed the original group of American volunteer combat aviators in China. During the Winter War, the Finnish Air Force (FAF) obtained 30 Mk II fighters from the UK. Ten of the aircraft were donated while the other 20 were bought by the FAF; all were delivered between 18 January and 16 February 1940, the first entering service on 2 February 1940. The Finnish"
"cigarette lighter"". Yamamoto would eventually die in one of these aircraft. The range of the G3M and G4M contributed to a demand for great range in a fighter aircraft. This partly drove the requirements for the A6M Zero which was as noteworthy for its range as for its maneuverability. Both qualities were again purchased at the expense of light construction and flammability that later contributed to the A6M's high casualty rates as the war progressed. As Japan moved toward war during 1940, Yamamoto gradually moved toward strategic as well as tactical innovation, again with mixed results. Prompted by talented young"
"Mitsubishi A6M Zero on 18 January and damaged two bombers on 20 January. He was shot down on 17 January 1942, but survived. Engineers were able to repair his aircraft, replacing the front section of the engine cowling with that of another plane. Sharp was evacuated from Singapore before its capitulation, along with his Buffalo. The aircraft was destroyed at Palembang, South Sumatra during a Japanese bombing raid on 7 February 1942. Sharp was killed in action over Java on 20 February 1942, while flying a Hawker Hurricane with No. 605 Squadron RAF. He was 20 years old. Buried in"
"A6M ""Reisen"" Zero fighter. Among modern types, the company specialises in types found in the JASDF, to cater for local Japanese modellers. Hasegawa's kits of modern military aircraft are often considered the definitive kit of given types. Unlike most of its competitor's, Hasegawa's modern military aircraft are packaged with minimal weaponry. Hasegawa produce a number of aircraft weapon sets which must be purchased separately. Hasegawa often releases limited-run kits in this line (as well as 1/48) which feature special decal sets, often for timely subjects; examples include the Navy One S-3 Viking, and the F-4 Phantom, F-15J Eagle and F-2A"
"aircraft being left flat footed since trying to emulate the manoeuvre would result in loss of power, or fuel flooding and engine shutdown. The British countermeasure, a half roll so the aircraft would only be subjected to positive G as they followed German aircraft into a dive, could take enough time to let the enemy escape. Negative G engine cut-out was not a problem unique to Merlin-powered fighters since many other pre-war aeroplanes also used carburettors containing a float chamber. For example, in 1942, the United States acquired a flyable Japanese Mitsubishi A6M Zero, known as the ""Akutan Zero"". When"
"B-25 bomber converted into a camera platform, and leased from Tallmantz Aviation. Three Mitsubishi A6M Zero replicas, originally built for the film ""Tora! Tora! Tora!"" (1970), were flown by pilots from the Confederate Air Force, now called the Commemorative Air Force. Two of the replicas were featured in a dogfight with F-14 Tomcats; a dissimilar engagement that was the first time that ""the match-up of fighters with totally different speeds, totally different environments and weaponry had ever been done in film"". In one scene where an F-14 ""thumps"" a Zero by flying under and streaking upward in front of the"
"operate over Germany during daylight hours. They shot down 5,954 aircraft, more than any other American fighter in Europe. In the Pacific Theater, the A6M Zero gave Japan air superiority for much of the early part of the war, but suffered against newer naval fighters such as the F6F Hellcat and F4U Corsair which exceeded the Zero in performance and durability. The Hellcat shot down 5,168 enemy aircraft (the second highest number), while the land-based Lockheed P-38 was third, shooting down 3,785 in all theaters. During the Cold War between 1946 and 1991 the US, UK, and NATO allies faced"